MEGA After Action

After Action November 17, 2000
Northwestern FranceJoe Shaffer

This is the After Action Report of a game put on at the Hobby Shop in St Louis, MO April 21, 2001

The action took place at dawn in northwestern France, October 1944. An American platoon had relieved an engineer unit in a small village in preparation for a new offensive. The engineers had spent almost 2 weeks fortifying the position, so the infantry felt well protected. Shortly after dawn a German counter-offensive commenced with an assault gun platoon (three StG III and a StuH 42), a pair of PzIVh and an infantry platoon.

The Germans chose to avoid a frontal assault and split forces to envelope the position from the flanks. The Americans suffered a major setback when incautious movements by troops revealed their defensive positions early on. (I.E. the Germans made outstanding spotting rolls.) Several salvos of HE fire from the assault guns silenced a pair of machine gun positions and a bazooka team on the American left. The German attack on that flank developed more slowly after that as the infantry moved through the forest to approach the flank without being observed. A pair of Tank Destroyers (M10) had engaged the assault guns and crippled two with the loss of one. On the American right the veteran attackers detected a minefield and diverted the attack in a wider hook. When his approaching infantry came under fire from the Americans, the German commander unintentionally directed part of the troops back into the minefield with devastating results. Shortly after that, however, the PzIV's forced the Americans back and the German attackers overran the perimeter. Inside the village, the Germans encountered the remaining tank destroyer and a section of armored cars (M8). The Americans had also managed to reposition their only AT gun to meet the attack on the right. The attacking infantry encountered the defenders at close quarters and the American fire convinced the German commander that his attack was doomed. The Germans fell back and the Americans claimed a tactical victory.